Growing up one of my fondest memories from the Holidays was the night that my brothers and I would get to decorate cookies with Mom. Now we never had to bake them but we sure got to decorate them and of course eat them.

This may be a tradition that you want to start with your children this Holiday Season. Below are some recipes for cookies but first I wanted to talk about what you may need to decorate them. I would recommend buying a small tub of icing and then some smaller decorating tubes of colored icing. You can also get small candy to use. The type of candy will depend on the kids, just get what they like.

Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

6 cups all purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup shortening, melted and cooled slightly

1 cup molasses

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup water

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Sift together the dry ingredients

In a medium bowl mix together the shortening, molasses, brown sugar, water, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth.

Gradually stir in dry ingredients, until they are completely absorbed

Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Pat down until about 1/2 inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours.